Some Cool Supplements
For you adventuresome souls, here are two things I've been experimenting with of late.
ZMA
This is a blend (they are trying to patent) of Zinc, Magnesium and vitamin B6 in specific proportions. It's popular with athletes because it increases muscle strength. But it had two side-effects that caught my attention.
On the body builder forums people were complaining about the wild and vivid dreams it produced. Seemed to be a well known effect in those circles. That peaked my interest, so I gave it whirl. And indeed it did. Vivid and wild dreams ---but it also gave me the deepest sleep I'd had in years. I woke up completely restored. Been using it off and on for several weeks, and the nights I take it before bed, I can wake up with less sleep and in a remarkably rested state.
It had another weird property though. I didn't exactly feel mentally dull, more like mentally relaxed, which was ok, but found I needed to hone my brain a little if I was going to be doing any mentally heavy-lifting after a night of ZMA. Kind of curious why that particular blend of ordinary vitamins and minerals would have that effect, but about 10 minutes with some entrainment frequencies after I got up and I'd be back on the wavelength I needed for those days, with a lot more reserves.
Benecol
We replaced our butter recently with this. Imagine a "margarine" that can actually lower your cholesterol. It's popular in Finland and Europe and just hit the scene in the USA fairly recently. The secret ingredient is plant sterols, which actually inhibit cholesterol absorption. Studies show a reduction in LDL cholesterol (the bad stuff) *and* total cholesterol by 10-15% in 2-3 weeks of eating 2-3 servings a day of this stuff. And it actually tastes pretty good on toast. Of course, with Bright-eye's jam you could spread lard on there and not notice ---but I've tested it by itself, on garlic toast, cooking, etc. and it's actually a pretty good replacement for butter.
ZMA
This is a blend (they are trying to patent) of Zinc, Magnesium and vitamin B6 in specific proportions. It's popular with athletes because it increases muscle strength. But it had two side-effects that caught my attention.
On the body builder forums people were complaining about the wild and vivid dreams it produced. Seemed to be a well known effect in those circles. That peaked my interest, so I gave it whirl. And indeed it did. Vivid and wild dreams ---but it also gave me the deepest sleep I'd had in years. I woke up completely restored. Been using it off and on for several weeks, and the nights I take it before bed, I can wake up with less sleep and in a remarkably rested state.
It had another weird property though. I didn't exactly feel mentally dull, more like mentally relaxed, which was ok, but found I needed to hone my brain a little if I was going to be doing any mentally heavy-lifting after a night of ZMA. Kind of curious why that particular blend of ordinary vitamins and minerals would have that effect, but about 10 minutes with some entrainment frequencies after I got up and I'd be back on the wavelength I needed for those days, with a lot more reserves.
Benecol
We replaced our butter recently with this. Imagine a "margarine" that can actually lower your cholesterol. It's popular in Finland and Europe and just hit the scene in the USA fairly recently. The secret ingredient is plant sterols, which actually inhibit cholesterol absorption. Studies show a reduction in LDL cholesterol (the bad stuff) *and* total cholesterol by 10-15% in 2-3 weeks of eating 2-3 servings a day of this stuff. And it actually tastes pretty good on toast. Of course, with Bright-eye's jam you could spread lard on there and not notice ---but I've tested it by itself, on garlic toast, cooking, etc. and it's actually a pretty good replacement for butter.
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